By Derrick Hornbaker ’23 staff writer
LVC’s many esports teams are off to a strong start this semester.
With strong performances and big wins on the board only one week in, things are looking good for the program as it continues to grow.
On Saturday, Jan. 28, LVC’s Valorant team kicked off the season by playing its first round of the CVAL Winter Tournament. There they took a solid 2-0 victory over University of Mary Washington, with the rounds in each game going 13-5 and 13-8 respectively.
Just a few days later on Wednesday, Jan. 25, the Valorant team earned another 2-0 victory in dominant fashion, this time in the Appalachian Esports League over Hood College. The games ended with scores of 13-1 and 13-4.
These aren’t the only good performances the esports program has put up. The Overwatch team has only had one match so far, but they put up quite a performance in the MAC Overwatch League on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
The team took the set 3-0 against Hood College, not giving up even a single round in each game. The scores for each map ended up at 2-0, 1-0, and 1-0 when all was said and done, giving the team a convincing win to start off the season.
The season hasn’t been entirely spotless, however, with the Rainbow Six: Siege (R6) team taking a few close losses to start off the season. Thursday, Jan. 26, left the R6 team with 0-1 losses to both Arcadia Knights and Central Methodist University in NECC Rainbow Six Activation, with the individual round scores in both sets coming down to a nail biting 5-7.
Though the losses are sure to sting, keeping the scores so close still shows that the team can catch up, especially now that a fire has been assuredly lit under them.
Finally, the Rocket League team has continued to show why it’s been such a force in previous seasons. On Thursday, Jan. 26, in the Appalachian Esports League, the team took a set against Hood College in a 3-1 victory, with the scores of each individual game coming out to 2-0, 4-2, 1-2, and 8-5 when the timer hit 0. The very next day, in the NECC Rocket League Activation, the team continued its dominance with a 3-0 victory over Illinois Springfield, with scorelines in each game reading 4-3, 7-1, and 5-2.
Win or lose, every team in the Esports program at LVC has shown a strong start to their seasons. With a number of teams still yet to even start competing, such as the Super Smash Brothers and Call of Duty teams, this semester is looking to be a lucrative one for the program.